"By George, it's a new ballgame in Columbus"

by Maureen McCabe on May 7, 2007

OK I am not a big sports fan. I am even less a fan of the Columbus Clippers .. I went to one game and the cowbells did me in.

Why are there cowbells at the Clippers game…? Isn’t a Clipper is a boat or ship… a cowbell is a nuisance. Just thinking abut it my headache is back and that one Clippers game I went to was in the early 90′s. For all I know what I attended was the Columbus Clippers Cowbell Classic and they’ve never had a cowbell at Clippers Stadium since.

In an article in the TimesLeader.com of northeastern Pennsylvannia I read:

“But strong feelings were stirred up after the Yankees severed their 28-year ties with Columbus after last season and moved the Triple-A franchise to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre market.”

“Craig Merz, a longtime sports writer for the Columbus Dispatch newspaper, has covered the Clippers for four seasons and was shocked by the apparent apathy.

I got one e-mail opposing the Yankees’ move out of town, said the 25-year Dispatch veteran. That surprised me, it really did. They were here for so many years. The Yankees have a worldwide name and the Clippers were associated with them. The people liked that. I think they felt a little betrayal from Steinbrenner. I was a little surprised there wasn’t more of a backlash.

Strong feelings of apathy were stirred up….

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees pitcher Colter Bean who spent four seasons with The Columbus Clipper’s when the Yankee’s triple A farm team, originally of Birmingham Alabama said of Columbus:

“I have a lot of great memories of Columbus. I love this city. It almost reminds me of back home. It’s very easygoing and there’s not a lot of hustle and bustle.”

I haven’t been keping up with AAA basbeball. Did Columbus keep a team, or did it pick up and move to Scranton-WB?

Cowbells must be an acquired taste — and used with (some) moderation. There is a cowbell in the baseball Hall of Fame that was famously brandished by Clara Somebody at Brooklyn Dodgers games in the 1950s. She was distinctively irritating — no other cowbells allowed I guess.

We are now the AAA affiliate of the Washington Nationals… I had to stop and look it up. I said the Washington Senators on Active Rain, duh. The AAA affilate of the NY Yankees did pick up and leave for Scranton-WB.

It was Boy Scout night the evening we were there in the early 90′s… there is no way to control Boys Scouts or Cub Scouts when they have a cowbell in their hands… ooh the headache is coming back.